Cheezy Vegan Kale Chips Recipe

If there is one snack my kids beg me to make over and over, its my cheezy kale chips. They are even very willing to help, so it's a great way to spend some time together while also accomplishing a task (my favorite way to do it!), as long as mama is in a good mood and not too task oriented. When I am, that usually makes for a less than pleasant kale chip-making experience for the kids. You know how it goes, you want it to be efficient and work out perfectly.... always a mothering disaster for me, so if your kids are with you, take a deep breath and be prepared to laugh a lot!

Now that you're prepared to be a fun mom:), here are the ingredients you'll need:

2 large bunches of curly kale
1 lemon
2 red bell peppers
1 1/2 cups soaked raw cashews. (place cashews in a bowl of very warm water for about an hour, then strain and rinse)
Himalayan or Celtic salt to taste, I use about 1/2 - 2 tsp, starting with one and tasting before adding more. You'll want them to be nice and salty!
5 TBS nutritional yeast
Dash of cayenne pepper

Chop the red bell pepper and add to blender or food processor with the juice of one lemon. Blend until smooth. Add the cashews, 1/2 tsp salt, a dash of cayenne pepper and blend again until smooth. Next add nutritional yeast and blend again. Devein the kale, meaning, remove the center stalks. Tear kale into the large pieces as they will shrink when dehydrated. Place in a large bowl and pour marinade over kale. Massage marinade into kale so all of it is well covered. Let sit for about 15 minutes, unless you're in a hurry, in which case, skip this step.

Place the kale on dehydrator trays lined with parchment paper. This recipe does not work in the oven b/c the marinade is too thick. Trust me, I've ruined a few batches. Set dehydrator to 115 degrees F and allow to dry for 8 to 15 hours, until very crispy.

If you are comfortable leaving your oven door open and do not own a dehydrator, you might try setting the oven to lowest setting, leave the door open and dehydrate overnight, rather than trying to bake them, which won't work.

Store in ziplock bags or airtight containers.

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